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FreeFall Aerospace hosted CreativeMornings/Tucson recently for their monthly breakfast talk. The speaker was Lauren Rabb, who shared how to improve critical thinking and focus with art using a technique called visual thinking strategies (VTS).

All photos by Desi Aragon.

Register for upcoming talks here…

 

View the CreativeMornings/Tucson with Lauren Rabb below:

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Aerospace/Defense and Space Industries Now a Foundation for the Local Economy

 

BizTucson – Spring 2022 – By Rodney Campbell
Read the entire Spring 2022 Edition here.

 

The five Cs of the Arizona economy – copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, and climate − that have traditionally driven growth in Arizona might need to dip into the alphabet soup for another economic driver. Aerospace, defense and space industries are flying high in Southern Arizona, with businesses spinning off from technologies developed at the University of Arizona or through partnerships between global companies.

 

Take, for example, FreeFall Aerospace, which develops antenna technology for satellite communications, fixed and mobile ground stations, aerial platforms, for a variety of commercial and government applications. The company got its start in 2016 with high-frequency radio technology developed at UArizona.

 

CEO Doug Stetson chalks up his company’s existence and success to its origins on campus. “We are very much tied to Tucson,” he said. Collaboration with the UA “benefits FreeFall Aerospace with a pipeline of talented engineers from UA, partners like AGM Container Controls, and local investors like UAVenture Capital. Each milestone our products reach is a crucial step for FreeFall, the University of Arizona, and Tucson’s developing space economy.”

In January, Northrop Grumman, which has a facility in Sierra Vista, awarded a contract for more than $100 million to Paragon Space Development, a company headquartered in Tucson. The deal calls on Paragon to put together a life-support system for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost program. HALO will be deployed in lunar orbit as the first crew module of NASA’s Lunar Gateway. It will serve as a crew habitat and docking station for spacecraft traveling between Earth and the moon.

 

Northrop Grumman also partnered with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, also headquartered in Tucson, last September to complete the first flight test of a scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Air Force. The companies are on track to deliver a prototype system to the U.S. Department of Defense.

 

“Tucson has been a growing hub for space manufacturing for years,” said Phantom Space CEO Jim Cantrell, whose company provides spacecraft construction and full-service launch capability. “It’s inspiring to see the kind of work done here from companies like Paragon Space Development and FreeFall Aerospace. Unlike most cities, there’s a real community here for aerospace technology, a community that motivates, inspires, and encourages growth.” 

 

Ascent Aviation Services provides maintenance, modification, storage, and reclamation services on aircraft at Tucson International Airport and Pinal Air Park near Marana. Ascent President/CEO Dave Querio’s company found another advantage in Southern Arizona during the pandemic.

 

The International Air Transport Association found that demand fell by 65.9% in 2020 compared to 2019, easily the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history. Ascent, a supplier of services to airlines, leasing companies, and fleet managers across the globe, was able to store more than 400 client aircraft here when the desire for air travel dropped during COVID. Having the space to put all those big jets here made Querio thankful to be in Southern Arizona.

 

 “With Tucson’s deep association to aviation and aerospace, we are fortunate to be able to call the Tucson metroplex home,” he said.

 

 

 

Joe Snell, President, and CEO at Sun Corridor Inc., the region’s economic development arm, has another “C” to throw into the mix. His organization plays a significant role in attracting and keeping high-tech industry in Southern Arizona. That requires coordination. “We have worked with a wide range of businesses in this space over the past 15 years,” he said. “These projects take intense coordination, which we quarterback among all regional partners and private dinners and meetings. Roadblocks appear, and we knock them down. We’re great problem solvers. We’ve done this a long time, and we know what’s important to companies.”

 

One of Sun Corridor’s key victories came in 2020 when it worked with local officials to keep Raytheon Missile Systems hereby delivering Raytheon Integrated Defense from Massachusetts. The relocation resulted in Tucson becoming home to the new Raytheon Missiles & Defense business. The collaboration resulted in the addition of 2,000 jobs and an impact of several billion dollars.

 

“This would have been an unprecedented loss for this community if that hadn’t happened,” Snell said. “This took private conversations with Raytheon at the highest levels, and we ultimately won the deal.” 

 

All of this collaboration adds up to real money. According to the Arizona Commerce Authority, the Southern Arizona aerospace and defense industry pulled down $12.2 billion in Department of Defense contracts in 2019. A year later, companies across the entire state earned $17.3 billion in contracts during the pandemic.

 

The positive effects of those agreements are felt throughout the community. There are more than 25,000 people employed in the industry in the region.

 

“Aerospace,  defense and space companies offer high wages, at every level, for all our citizens,” Snell said. “These industries lead to a stronger economic foundation for all.”

 

Universal Avionics has a 165,000-square-foot headquarters near Tucson International Airport. The company, which has been in business for four decades, specializes in making and fixing flight management systems and cockpit instrument displays for private, business and commercial aircraft.

 

“Tucson is a great place for our headquarters, with manufacturing and repair integral to our success,” said Steve Pagnucco, VP of operations. “We have a large modern facility that has and continues to allow us the ability to produce many of our own components, which have allowed us to continue to deliver for our customers through supply shortages.” 

 

 World View Enterprises, which specializes in space tourism and exploration, started in 2012 because of a collaboration with Pima County. The organization’s headquarters at Spaceport Tucson is where the company manufactures its stratospheric balloons and fabricates the crafts it flies on remote sensing missions. World View also launches stratospheric missions from Tucson.

 

 CEO Ryan Hartman said the region’s strong tradition in the aerospace, defense and space industries made Tucson a natural choice for his company’s headquarters. “Tucson provides an exceptional breeding ground for some of the top aerospace talent in the world,” he said. “Being headquartered in Tucson has allowed us to recruit and employ some of the best and brightest minds in the industry who exemplify our company ethos.” 

 

Phantom’s Cantrell is bullish on the space industry’s future in Tucson, including for those who earn their living on the ground. “The need to explore outer space isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “The need for space technology and manufacturing isn’t going anywhere. The need for Tucson’s bustling industry isn’t going anywhere. Tucson, and by extension the state of Arizona, will continue to lead the way when it comes to space technology production, manufacturing, and launching.” 

 

In addition to its facility at Tucson International Airport, Universal Avionics has facilities in Marana. It has electronic assembly, test, and repair facilities here that are responsible for building and supporting the company’s avionics products for customers around the world.

 

 

Universal CEO Dror Yahav said Tucson is the perfect spot for his company because of the region’s collaboration and competition. “Tucson is home to a great aviation and aerospace community which allows us to attract talented professionals looking to make advances in the aviation and avionics industries,” he said. “The city is becoming a hub of innovation and for startups and people looking for alternatives to California. We are excited to be part of this growth.” 

 

Snell said Tucson competes with larger cities, including Austin, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, and Portland, and smaller communities such as Huntsville, Ala., and Wichita, Kan. when recruiting and retaining high-tech companies. He said Tucson is ranked in the top 10 among metro regions for aerospace manufacturing because of its highly concentrated aerospace product and parts manufacturing sector.

 

It helps to have great weather, a world-class university producing quality graduates in the sciences, and engineering and complementary businesses to push organizations to success. “Southern Arizona’s clear blue skies, stable weather, and dry climate have attracted aerospace-related businesses since the early 1990s,” Snell said. “Our natural environment was and still is a draw. With decades of aerospace and defense companies locating and operating here, we have built an amazing pipeline of talent and workforce to fill their needs.”

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Phoenix Business Journal
By Steve Zylstra | Dec 16, 2021

FreeFall Aerospace is developing revolutionary antenna technology for ground, air, and space. Spherical antennas offer a wide field of view, efficient beam steering, and low mass to simplify and improve satellite communications. This allows entire constellations of low-cost satellites to be integrated in a complete communications network. The technology is based on research in high-frequency radio astronomy at The University of Arizona.

Read Full Article at Phoenix Business Journal:
On many clear evenings, it’s no surprise to see me casting my eyes to the stars. That’s especially true when I’m reflecting on my past while considering what lies ahead in our future.

One of the early stops in my career found me working as a principal engineer at Ford Aerospace. Even then, I knew space held the potential for paydays. Little did I realize that the commercial space industry was going to help sustain Arizona’s economy for years to come in Arizona.

There are a number of companies in the Valley and beyond that have used our state as the launch pad for ideas leading to enterprises offering products and services ranging from satellites orbiting the earth to space tourism in the next few years.

In the East Valley, the name Northrop Grumman is behind two campuses. Gilbert is home to a new administrative and engineering building created to expand the company’s Northrop Grumman’s multi-building satellite manufacturing campus, which was already one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Clients include NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial customers. A few years ago, a campus was opened in neighboring Chandler to serve as home to Northrop Grumman’s launch vehicles business.

Tempe is the home of KinetX Aerospace, the first private company qualified by NASA for deep space navigation. In addition, it offers world-class expertise flight dynamics, operations and systems engineering. The KinetX Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics team has navigated spacecraft on complex planetary exploration missions such as OSIRIS-REx, MESSENGER and New Horizons. KinetX also specializes in the design, development and operation of large-scale space systems including Iridium.

Speaking of Iridium, which has its business operations in Tempe, the company offers the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that links people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere around the world in real time. In 2019, the company completed an upgrade of its satellite network and launched its new specialty broadband service, Iridium Certus.

Stretching to Tucson

Arizona’s commercial space corridor also stretches south to Tucson. Paragon Space Development Corporation has worked on every major human space flight program since 1999 and its hardware has flown on NASA spacecraft (e.g., Space Shuttle, International Space Station), foreign spacecraft (e.g., Soyuz, Mir) and commercial spacecraft.

Paragon’s expertise in engineering, design, analysis and manufacturing combined with its patented ECLSS Human-Rating Facility and Testing Facilities has made it a leader in the development of innovative life support and thermal control solutions. The company is part of the Northrop Grumman team that will create the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) for the Lunar Gateway outpost planned to orbit the moon.

Want to get a closer look at the moon but don’t think you’ll make the cut for NASA? World View Enterprises is the creator of the Explorer Stratospheric Capsule that will use balloons to take you and others to the stratosphere as soon as early 2024 for $50,000 each. The memorable moment will be seeing the Earth’s curvature against the blackness of space.

It’s worth noting that Paragon and World View share a common pedigree. Both companies were founded by Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter, who have launched the company Space Perspective in Florida. The company’s Spaceship Neptune will be lifted by a SpaceBalloon for an experience similar to that being marketed by World View.

Back in Tucson, Phantom Space Corp. helps companies design, build and integrate spacecraft from single small spacecraft to the complete buildout of constellations. With a track record of successful satellite programs, spacecraft design and various space missions, one of its products is Daytona, a mass-manufactured expendable two-stage rocket considered the most efficient and cost-effective small payload rocket in the world.

FreeFall Aerospace is developing revolutionary antenna technology for ground, air, and space. Spherical antennas offer a wide field of view, efficient beam steering, and low mass to simplify and improve satellite communications. This allows entire constellations of low-cost satellites to be integrated in a complete communications network. The technology is based on research in high-frequency radio astronomy at The University of Arizona.

This overview is just a sample of what is happening in Arizona. While there are plenty of voids in space, there are far fewer when it comes to our commercial space industry.

Steve Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

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Julie Bonner on The Power Shift Podcast with Sharon Melnick

Julie Bonner is the Director of Communications for FreeFall Aerospace, a tech company in Tucson, Arizona that is developing intelligent antenna systems for space and terrestrial applications. She is also the Chair of the Arizona Technology Council’s Women in the Workforce and also organizes Creative Mornings Tucson.

Julie is also a fine artist and blended her paintings with her graphic design expertise to create the Addy Award-winning Desert Dwellers Flash Cards. Inspired by the desire to teach her son about Southwest wildlife, each card contains amusing stories about desert animals from A to Z and features her acrylic paintings. Local teachers, parents, and grandparents use them to promote literacy and teach children about their environment. Previously she has served as Art Director for national chains Mister Car Wash and Clear Channel Outdoor.

Julie also believes in the power of education and supporting the community. They are active in events for the youth, especially young women by exposing them to really cool opportunities in science, engineering, and tech. Learn more about her journey, her story, and her vision in this podcast.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Melnick and Julie Bonner discuss:

• What power looks like for Julie Bonner, in a pretty male-dominated environment.
• How her background as a creative helped her in the tech industry.
• Her vision to make the company diversified and bring the tech industry closer to the hearts of young women.

If you’re thinking of having a career in tech and think that this might not be right for you, let Julie empower you with her story:

“It’s a strength to come into something with a little bit of a different perspective than maybe the norm!”– Julie Bonner, FreeFall Aerospace

About The Power Shift Podcast

The Power Shift podcast is all about redefining the idea of “power” and how we use it for good, not with the traditional idea of force. Listen to thought-provoking and practical interviews to help you understand power from every angle– how a person gets ‘in her power’, how power works in the workplace, and how power can shift and be shared. Host Dr. Sharon Melnick is a Harvard Medical School-trained business psychologist who’s a best-selling author, speaker, and sought-after executive coach who helps Women Leaders be in their power, get into a next level position of power and use their power as a Culture Carrier in their company and community. Because every woman in her power is a Change Agent!

Hear The Power Shift Podcast on: iTunes  Spotify  TuneIn  Stitcher Amazon  iHeartRadio and Google

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